In Business

Why not start your own dance business?
Eleven million women in the UK want to get more ACTIVE – they may want to play more sport, they may want to catch up with friends and do some exercise or they may just feel the need to tone up and spend a bit more time on themselves. Dance is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to get ACTIVE . . . so if you would like to:

share your love of dance

bring the opportunity for women in your community to get active,

have a job that offers flexibility around your family commitments

be independent

you should consider starting your own business.

Why Dance?
Well most women like dancing and yet many hated PE and sport at school!!! But there’s a really interesting connection – particularly for girls. Most elite sport entails the use of ‘core assets’ – i.e. the trunk . . . once you get the hang of it you'll no longer ‘Throw like a Girl’ because you start to engage the trunk and confidently connect the upper and lower halves of the body. So all the muscles can be used effectively. Once you get it you will 'serve' a tennis ball, 'cradle' a lacrosse sick or 'feather' a sculling blade with ease and confidence.

Dancers naturally learn rhythm and control and build core strength, or “core assets” without the need for strict ‘Swiss ball’ or Pilates sessions. The Women's Sports Network is committed to actions that empower girls and women through the development of ‘core assets’ (often referred to as 'core' or 'trunk strength' or 'core stability'), particularly amongst young girls in early stages of puberty. If girls were offered dance at school in years 4/5/6 – alongside, or as an alternative to competitive sport - they would be less likely to drop out of sport, get fewer injuries and be more likely to go on to be elite athletes!

Dance is a fun, enabling activity that allows girls and women to concentrate on the motor elements of a sport and build the strength and confidence that offers a route into other sports.

It’s what women want!

All the research tells us that women like to get fit/active with friends in smaller groups locally with friends. They often avoid lycra and bigger sports centres in favour of local centres, clubs and community halls. Pay-as-you go also makes it easier for women to get started, rather than paying a big fee up front. Dance fits all these criteria – so how can you get started? All sorts of things to think about and not just what kind of dance or fitness regime your going to choose. There are some downsides – insurance, marketing, accounts and accreditation – making sure you do it properly and don’t put you pupils (or yourself) at risk.

Are Schools missing an opportunity?Click the image below below to watch the international educationalist Ken Robinson talk about the importance of dance in today’s education system – you’ll be amazed what he says about the importance of dance!!. Its had 32 million views!!

Click the image below below to watch a video of how one of our partners POPDance/FIT got started and built up an international business -

What’s the easiest route?
Well, if your qualified in a specific area of dance/fit – you would probably start with some of the issues of finding a location, marketing and insurance – then you you’d want to work out routines (lesson plans) which relate to your discipline – so ballet, Pilates, jive, street, pop etc - and what you are going to offer your participants - what will make you different from other classes - what can you offer that they can't?

Alternatively you could think about taking a licence or a franchise on an existing/successful branded system. The advantages of this are that you can get started quickly and, once through the start-up phase, training etc. you can be running dance classes in no time. What a franchise/licence brings to your business – sue do you have any copy to go in here?

What about a franchise?Dancing makes you HAPPY, gets you active and is amazing - not only the body but also for the mind! You’ll LOVE it and so will your friends when you run your own show. WSNet is commited to helping women get into jobs or run businesses in SPORT/FITNess - we'll be running some seminars in the late summer and autmn so please drop me an email and I will keep you up to date. jo.c@wsnet.co.uk In the mean time you can sign up withour asscoiates at POPDance for free weekly tips on starting and running a dance business HERE